Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Covering for mistakes, folly & stupidity

"After months of delay, the B.C. Liberals finally released Tuesday a trio of evaluation reports that predated their $30-million payout for the cancelled Boss Power uranium mining claim.

"The pictured painted by the 800 or so pages of documentation was not a pretty one for taxpayers, giving the appearance that the government had overpaid by as much as $21 million to keep the proceedings out of court...

"How did the B.C. Liberals manage to “wrestle the company to the ceiling” on compensation, as Opposition energy critic John Horgan put it during question period Tuesday?

"No plausible explanation was forthcoming from Energy Minister Rich Coleman. He told the house the Liberals had acted on internal legal advice, then segued into a beside-the-point exhumation of various NDP sins from the 1990s.

"But the settlement, executed on the proverbial steps of the courthouse, ensured that there would be no witnesses called in connection with the extraordinary contents of a government affidavit that came to light only after the fact..."

"Settled... ensuring that there would be no witnesses called." Sound familiar? Remember former Liberal minister Gary Collins being saved from appearing in Supreme Court over the BC Rail affair. That settlement however cost only $6 million.

Blatant disregard for the value of taxpayer dollars. Obvious disregard, for the taxpayer.

In my opinion, to coverup this and other legal issues "with intent" in this fashion, is at the very least, abuse of office, and at the other end of the scale, criminal.

Sorry folks its not over. If the issue of governance in this province has any meaning at all, this and other "screwups" have to investigated and dealt with inthe courts. "Parlaimentary priviledge" does not extend to "incompetence". Taxpayers are a "legal" enitity. We have rights and you have obliagations, under the law, to ensure our rights are upheld. People demand not just answers, but solutions, as well.

These types of boondoggles, demand at the very least, the firing of "incompetent" ministers, and at the most, civil or class action suits against individuals or political parties for negligance, and impropriety, if found.

Launching into the "past mistakes" of a former government, is a "childish ploy" to "redirect" and "reframe" the obvious stupidity, of the issue at hand.

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I write and edit this blog alone. I favour public education, efficient social programs, democratic trade unionism, free competitive markets and encouragement of owner-operated businesses. I believe journalists and public and quasi-public servants should be subject to stringent measures of accountability and conflict prevention.

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